How to set up IP exclusions in Google Ads (2026 guide)

As of 2026, Google Ads allows up to 500 IP exclusions per campaign, making it one of the fastest built-in ways to control invalid traffic.

IP exclusions are a campaign-level setting that prevents your ads from showing to specific IP addresses, helping you block low-quality clicks before they drain your budget.

Invalid traffic can come from competitors, internal visits, or bots repeatedly clicking your ads, and it often goes unnoticed until performance declines.

Industry estimates suggest it can account for a significant share of paid clicks, while Statista projects global ad fraud losses will reach $172 billion by 2028.

This guide shows you how to set up IP exclusions step by step, identify the IPs costing you money, and use them alongside other methods to improve campaign performance.

What are IP exclusions in Google Ads?

IP exclusions are part of the campaign-level settings in Google Ads, where you can add IP addresses to exclude your ads from showing to users on those IP addresses.

If any of the IP addresses are on your exclusion list, anyone from that IP address cannot view or click on your ads.

Some cases when IP exclusions may be used include:

• Your own company/office is getting ads clicked by its IP address.
• Your competitor’s IP address keeps appearing in your click reports but never converts.
• There is a data center or a bot causing a huge number of invalid clicks.
• There is a geographical cluster of IPs artificially inflating your CTR with no conversions.

Why does IP exclusion matter for your campaign performance?

Invalid clicks don’t just waste budget; they distort your data. When bad traffic inflates clicks but never converts, Google’s Smart Bidding (its automated bid optimisation system) starts to optimise for the wrong audience.

Over time, this increases costs and reduces campaign efficiency. Blocking bad traffic early with IP exclusions helps keep your data clean and your targeting accurate.

How can you identify which IP addresses to exclude?

The setup takes minutes; identifying the right IPs is the real work. Use these four methods:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Shows behavioural patterns, such as repeat visits with zero conversions.

• Limitation: does not provide raw IP addresses.

Server logs: Provide full IP-level data and reveal repeated hits within short timeframes.

• Limitation: requires technical access and manual analysis.

Google Ads invalid click data: Highlights campaigns with high invalid click rates.

• Limitation: does not show the actual IP addresses behind the clicks.

Click fraud detection tools: Track suspicious IPs in real-time and automate IP exclusion.

• Limitation: requires additional cost and setup.

How to set up IP exclusions in Google Ads: step by step

To set up your IP exclusions in Google Ads, consider the following:

Step 1: Log in to Google Ads

Visit ads.google.com and log in using the account that has the campaign that you wish to secure.

Step 2: Find campaign settings

Select Campaigns in the left-hand menu and then select the particular campaign. Note: IP exclusions are campaign-based settings.

If you have several campaigns, you must add exclusions to each one separately; there is no list of account-wide exclusions in Google Ads.

Step 3: Click the settings tab

Select your campaign and then click the Settings tab. To access the IP exclusions section, scroll to the bottom of the page, under the advanced settings.

Step 4: Fill in your IP addresses

Click the edit button beside the IP exclusions. The addresses are typed in one address per line, and you are allowed to type 500 addresses at a time. Google Ads supports the following formats:

• Single IPv4 address: 203.0.113.45
• IPv4 wildcard range: 203.0.113.* (blocks .0 through .255 for that subnet)
• Single IPv6 address: entered in full standard notation

Note: CIDR notation (e.g., 203.0.113.0/24) is a compact way of defining IP ranges. Google Ads does not support this format, so it must be converted into wildcard format (e.g., 203.0.113.*) before being added.

Most advertisers use free online CIDR-to-wildcard converters to do this instantly.

Step 5: Save and monitor

Click “Save.” Exclusions normally take effect a few hours later. The change should be reflected in your invalid click data.

Check back after 48 hours.

What IP address formats does Google Ads accept?

Google Ads is reasonably flexible in how it accepts IP exclusions. For instance, you can input:

• Single IPv4 IPs (such as 203.0.113.45).
• IPv4 IP ranges in wildcard format (such as 203.0.113.*)
• Single IPv6 IPs

Google Ads currently cannot parse IP ranges in CIDR notation (e.g., 203.0.113.0/24). Therefore, if you wish to exclude a broad range of IPs in CIDR, you will have to convert them to wildcard format first.

What are the limitations of IP exclusions in Google Ads?

IP exclusions can be helpful, but they can’t solve all problems. Knowing their limitations will help you craft a practical protection strategy.

The 500 IP limit per campaign

Google allows up to 500 exclusions per campaign. This is more than sufficient for most small to medium-sized businesses.

But if you are running a campaign that targets high competition keywords or if you run a large campaign, 500 exclusions can fill up fast, especially if you are dealing with a network of rotating bots.

Mobile and dynamic IPs

A significant number of malicious clicks originate from mobile networks or internet service providers that assign dynamic IP addresses (addresses that change frequently); the same user or bot might use a different IP address each time they click.

IPv6 coverage gaps

IPv6 addresses (a newer, longer IP format) are more complex, and fraudsters are increasingly using them, making them harder to identify and block.

No cross-campaign inheritance

IP exclusions are not inherited from one campaign to another. If you have five campaigns, you need to specify the exclusions five times. This is a pain but necessary; if you don’t, there will be holes.

Google’s filters do some, but not all

Google filters out invalid clicks and issues credits. Google’s own documentation says that these operate in real time and in post-analysis mode.

But Google’s threshold for what is considered invalid is quite low, and many advanced frauds will not reach it.

IP exclusions and Performance Max campaigns

Performance Max campaigns do not support IP exclusions natively because of their automated targeting system.

This means you cannot block specific IP addresses directly within PMax.

However, partial workarounds include:

• Using audience signals to guide targeting away from low-quality users
• Applying placement exclusions where possible
• Using third-party click fraud tools such as ClickPatrol, which integrate via the Google Ads API

Should you use IP exclusions alongside other tools?

IP exclusions are most effective when used in combination with other methods to protect against click fraud.

On their own, they block known offenders, but when coupled with monitoring systems, they can work proactively rather than reactively.

Here is a simple comparison of what different approaches cover:

How do you know if your IP exclusions are working?

Even though there is no clear evidence of fraudulent clicks, it does not mean your exclusions are working.

Check your invalid click rate

Once you’ve applied exclusions, track the invalid click rate column in Google Ads for the next couple of weeks to four weeks.

If you see a significant decrease in invalid clicks from the selected IPs, it means your exclusions worked.

Otherwise, it could be the sign that the traffic comes from another group of IPs which is not yet listed in your exclusions.

Monitor the restoration of your conversion rate

The normalization of your conversion rate is one of the most obvious indicators of successful exclusions. If the bad traffic was causing an unnatural increase in clicks while reducing the conversion rate, once you get rid of them, your CTR will go down, but your conversions will grow. It’s an ideal trade-off.

Observe changes in Smart Bidding algorithms

Several weeks after the implementation of exclusions, you might see that the behavior of Smart Bidding algorithms changes.

The system has more accurate information about genuine users’ behavior, making targeting more efficient.

Compare the cost per conversion before and after exclusion

Retrieve the data from your campaign before and after implementing exclusions. Should you find a reduction in your cost per conversion without affecting your total number of conversions, then you can be assured that exclusions have helped eliminate wastage in your budget.

Common mistakes advertisers make with IP exclusions

Some common mistakes advertisers make with IP exclusion include:

Blocking IPs before verification

Blocking an innocent IP, such as that of a loyal customer, a regular visitor to your website, or an important business contact, means they won’t ever receive your advertisements.

Verify whether the IP in question was really inactive by comparing it to your conversion data.

Creating and maintaining an exclusion list

IP fraud does not stand still. Fraudulent bots switch from one IP address to another, your competitors may change office IPs, and your employees might switch offices, too.

The list of excluded IPs must be updated regularly, no less than once a quarter, but preferably once a month, especially in high-budget campaigns.

Excluding IPs on just one campaign

When running several campaigns targeting the same audience, an unblocked IP will continue to waste budget even if it has been added to the exclusion list in other campaigns. Think of IP exclusion as an account-wide process.

Not accounting for IPv6 traffic

A significant portion of invalid traffic can go unnoticed if you rely solely on IPv4 tracking. Ensure that your analytics tool and any external solutions you use can collect IPv6 IP addresses.

How to use IP exclusions effectively in practice

To make IP exclusions work effectively, start by identifying suspicious traffic using GA4 and your server logs, then add the high-risk IPs to your campaign exclusion list.

After applying them, monitor your invalid click rate over the next 2 to 4 weeks to assess improvements in traffic quality.

And because fraud patterns evolve, updating your exclusion list regularly, monthly, for active campaigns, is essential.

If you’re managing larger budgets or dealing with persistent invalid traffic, a click fraud detection tool can simplify this process and improve accuracy.

While IP exclusions won’t eliminate every form of ad fraud, they remain one of the fastest and most effective ways to reduce wasted spend directly within Google Ads and improve the reliability of your campaign data.

Abisola

Meet Abisola! As the content manager at ClickPatrol, she’s the go-to expert on all things fake traffic. From bot clicks to ad fraud, Abisola knows how to spot, stop, and educate others about the sneaky tactics that inflate numbers but don’t bring real results.

View all posts by Abisola (Abisola)

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